Fallout will hit both sides in 2nd BART strike

Updated 2:58 pm, Monday, October 21, 2013

Photo: James Tensuan, SFC

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Rich Cox protests at the Lake Merritt Bart station in Oakland, Calif. during the Bart strike on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2013. The BART strike has forced many Bay Area commuters to find alternate modes of transportation. less

Rich Cox protests at the Lake Merritt Bart station in Oakland, Calif. during the Bart strike on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2013. The BART strike has forced many Bay Area commuters to find alternate modes of ... more

Photo: James Tensuan, SFC

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There were guests and entertainment galore at the "block party wedding" that Dr. Jerry Goldstein and Tom Taylor threw at their home in the Castro.

There were guests and entertainment galore at the "block party wedding" that Dr. Jerry Goldstein and Tom Taylor threw at their home in the Castro.

Fallout will hit both sides in 2nd BART strike

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BART and its unions have one thing in common - they both stand to lose a lot more over the long term than just the battles they're fighting with each other during this second strike of the year.

For openers, BART has already polled voters in three Bay Area counties about boosting sales or property taxes to cover its $3 billion in costs for a new rail fleet, a modern maintenance center and upgraded train controls.

In Alameda County, meanwhile, officials are planning to go back to voters with a new version of a transportation tax that includes $400 million for a BART extension to Livermore. The last such measure, in November, fell 800 votes shy of the needed two-thirds.

One key finding from voter focus groups is that people are looking for "strong accountability" with their tax dollars.

BART's high-profile fight over work rules doesn't exactly present an image of efficiency.

For the unions, the fallout may be felt at the ballot box as well.

Last week, San Jose Mayor Chuck Reedand four other California mayors announced plans for a statewide initiative to allow local agencies to reduce future pension benefits for current employees -an issue in which BART's unions have a big stake.

One Democratic strategist in Sacramento, asking not to be named because he works with labor, says the strike could be the union equivalent of the federal shutdown debacle.

"It could make labor look like the Tea Party of the left," he said - "unreasonable, uncompromising and more interested in themselves than the community at large."

High-heeled kick: San Francisco Supervisor David Campos put on the pearls for his kickoff fundraiser for state Assembly.

Campos - who will be facing off against fellow SupervisorDavid Chiufor the seat now held byTom Ammiano- is working hard to solidify his vote in the gay community. The first step was a get-together Thursday at the Blackbird on Market Street featuring Ammiano and Cleve Jones, creator of the AIDS quilt project.

Drag queen Donna Sachet was also in attendance. In fact, she was Campos' date.

"We make quite a couple, don't you think?" Campos said.

On the serious side, Campos is feeling pretty good about his chances: It's a progressive district, with a heavily gay and Latino demographic.

Believe it or not, Campos even has the support of some of Mayor Ed Lee's Chinese American supporters, who have yet to forgive or forget that Chiu was among the pack who ran against Lee for mayor.

In the street: Quite a "block party wedding" that prominent gay neurologist Dr. Jerry Goldsteinand his longtime partner, Tom Taylor, tossed for themselves the other day in front of their famed gingerbread Victorian "Christmas tree" house in the Castro.

Some 600 guests attended the afternoon bash on 21st Street, between Church and Sanchez, where comedian Bruce Vilanchplayed host and the entertainment included cabaret singer Sharon McNight, the Thrillpeddlers and the ever-flamboyant Extra Action Marching Band.

The idea behind the street party was to show how far San Francisco has come since 1976 when a police sergeant - supposedly investigating an abandoned vehicle - stopped Taylor in front of their house and aggressively questioned him about what he was doing there.

"He said he didn't have a right to live here," Goldstein said.

Supervisor Scott Wiener, who was among the guests at the party, tells us it was "a kind of wedding that has never taken place before and will probably never take place again - it was beautiful, unique and amazing."

By the way, Goldstein and Taylor shelled out $763 for all the street permits - which is quite a bargain compared with the $4,500 that Mayor Ed Lee's daughter paid to get married on the same weekend under the City Hall dome.

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